


Kitchen Love Story

by MelliesRegina44



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: AU, F/F, Vanity, Vanity Fest, vanityfest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2019-07-29 19:26:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16270796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelliesRegina44/pseuds/MelliesRegina44
Summary: AU in which 1950's Vanessa and Charity both have husbands. The new neighbors soon realize they have a close connection.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My girlfriend wrote this one. I'm just posting for her. This is for AU day of Vanityfest!

It was a fairly uneventful evening in the Clark household. Thomas was up in his office, having brought work home again. His wife, Vanessa, was making her famous lasagna for supper. They had invited their new neighbors, the Adams’, over to get to know each other a bit better.

“How’s my girl’s famous lasagna coming along?” Thomas asked, walking down the stairs and getting a whiff of all the good smells coming from the kitchen. 

“It’s almost done, but something isn’t right… it’s not perfect…and if it’s not perfect, the Adams’ aren’t going to be our friends and then what’s the point of even having this dinner party, so I might as well just throw it in the bin.” Vanessa rambled, staring at the oven, her thoughts racing.

Thomas came up behind her, kissing her on the cheek and softly reassuring her, “I’m sure it will be delicious. Plus,” he added, “the Adams’ will be here anytime now, so there will be no throwing in the bin of any kind.”

XXXXXXX

Vanessa was making sure everything looked perfect in the dining room when the doorbell rang. She wanted to make a good first impression. She hated being alone for so long during the day, and it would be nice having someone around with whom to talk.

She walked to the front door and opened it. She smiled at the tall man standing in front of her and felt the ever familiar hands of her husband on her waist as he came up behind her to welcome their guests. Vanessa then looked to the woman standing on their porch and was immediately blown away by her natural beauty. That face should be on the cover of magazines. She thought to herself as she ushered their guests into the foyer. 

“Hello I’m Scott, and this is my wife Charity,” the tall man smiled, speaking to Vanessa, gesturing to the equally as tall woman standing beside him.

“I’m Vanessa. It’s very nice to finally meet you both.” Vanessa gave a short glance in the direction of the tall blonde. “Shall we move to the dining room? I made my famous lasagna!” 

XXXXXXXX

The four of them wined and dined and about halfway through dinner Vanessa noticed that she was keeping track of how many times Charity looked at her. She really wanted Charity to like her. She could use a friend. 

The husbands had engaged in previous conversations and anyone could tell. They picked up right where they left off their last engagement, rambling on about their shared interest of golf. Vanessa and Charity were still in the very early stages of getting to know one another and with their husbands sitting next to them they both felt somewhat wary of conversation. 

XXXXXXXX

After dinner, Thomas took Scott upstairs to show him his newly furnished office. 

“He gets a new desk and he thinks he’s living the high life.” Vanessa said almost into her wine glass. Charity laughed at this remark, watching their husbands leave the room. Vanessa set down her wine glass and moved to the dining room to start clearing the table. 

“Here, let me help you with that….” Charity offered, following the shorter blonde into the dining room. Reaching for the plate in of Vanessa’s hand, Charity placed her other hand on the middle of the shorter blonde’s back.

The touch came as a surprise to Vanessa and made her drop the plate she was holding. The plate shattered on the floor, making both women jump. The pieces missed making contact with any skin, but even if either of them were bleeding, they could not have taken their eyes off of each other. 

They felt an indescribable connection when Charity made contact. A connection, if they were being honest, that scared them both.

“What happened? Are you two alright?” Thomas asked, rushing down the steps.

“Yes we’re alright, darling. I just dropped a plate.” Vanessa responded, never breaking eye contact with the taller blonde. Thomas silently assessed the situation for any blood or tears before ushering Scott back upstairs to the office. 

“You sure you’re alright dear?” Charity asked after their husbands had left them alone once again, raising an eyebrow at the shorter blonde. 

“Yes I am quite alright, just scared me is all.” Vanessa quickly replied, getting the dustpan and broom to sweep up the pieces that were scattered across the floor. 

“It scared me too…” Charity mumbled under her breath. Stupid… Stupid… Why did you say that? Charity thought, mentally kicking herself for having the Dingle honesty.

“What did you say?” Vanessa asked, sweeping up the broken plate.

“Nothing…” Charity said, realizing Vanessa very well might have heard her.

“No… You said something. What was it? What did you say?” Vanessa pushed, sweeping the final few pieces of shattered plate up into the dustpan. Vanessa looked up into the taller blonde’s green eyes, which, to Charity, felt almost like pleading.

“I said…” Charity started, “…I said it scared me too.”

“Oh. That’s it? You wouldn’t tell me you were scared of a plate dropping?”

It wasn’t the plate dropping that scared me. Charity thought to herself, before pushing the thought deep within her. “Yeah… I don’t like to admit I’m scared.” Charity answered.

XXXXXXXX

The two women could hear their husbands talking upstairs in depth about Thomas’ new desk, while they sat quietly on the couch. Charity broke the awkward silence first. “I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. I did not mean to startle you and I’m so sorry about the plate.”

“Oh don’t worry about it dear. We have plenty of plates!” Vanessa reassured Charity, looking over at the other woman and smiling. “I’m so happy to have met you. Thank you for coming tonight.” She reached over to touch Charity’s hand resting on her knee.

This time it was Charity’s turn to jump. She pulled her hand back ever so slightly just as Vanessa went to touch it, and all of a sudden Vanessa’s hand was on Charity’s knee. Both women stared at it, but did nothing to change it. They felt once more the indescribable connection that was forming between them and they didn’t want it to end, so they sat there in silence, Vanessa’s hand on Charity’s knee until their husbands came down the steps once more.

XXXXXXXX

Over the next month, the women spent more and more time together, they visited each other at home, went to the market together, shared their favorite recipes with one another… everything that best friends did. 

One hot afternoon when the pair returned after a trip to the market, Vanessa invited Charity inside for a glass of her homemade lemonade. Charity accepted and the two went inside and into the kitchen. Vanessa got out the pitcher while Charity got out the glasses. Familiar. Charity thought. Everything about Vanessa and her home, especially her kitchen seemed familiar to her. Charity wasn’t used to this feeling. She had had a tough childhood and even Scott, although he loved her deeply, couldn’t make her feel as comfortable as Vanessa seemed to. Something about the shorter blonde woman made her feel as though she could say or do anything. “Vanessa…” Charity started, walking over to the counter where the shorter blonde stood.

“Yes?” Vanessa answered.

Charity didn’t really know what to say. How can I tell her how she makes me feel without sounding like I am trying to come on to her? Without sounding like a... I am not a… 

Charity’s thoughts were interrupted by the delicate touch of Vanessa’s hand on her arm. Charity was suddenly brought out of her thoughts and dropped one of the glasses. The two women jumped at the sound of the shattering glass. Charity, horrified, looked around at the broken glass dispersed around the kitchen floor and then up at Vanessa, who, to her surprise, began to giggle.

“Why are you laughing? I just dropped one of your glasses!” Charity inquired.

“I’m laughing because the exact same thing happened when we first met! Except I was the one dropping kitchenware!” Vanessa said smiling.

“Well you startled me!” Charity retorted.

“I touched your arm, Charity.” Vanessa countered, smiling at the taller blonde.

Charity felt as though this woman could see to her soul. She couldn’t defend herself. All Vanessa did was touch her and something came over her. Something strong enough to make her forget about everything. She didn’t know what it was. She didn’t know what to say.

The two women stood there silent for a few moments before Charity spoke, “Vanessa?” she said softly, her gaze cast down to the floor.

“Yes?” Vanessa asked almost hesitantly.

Charity looked up at Vanessa and took a deep breath. “Do you remember what I said after you dropped that plate?”

“I think so. You said that it scared you… and that you don’t like to admit when you’re scared.” Vanessa responded.

“Yes. I said that I don’t like to admit when I’m scared…” Charity stopped, not knowing how to continue.

“Charity? Are you alright?” Vanessa took a step closer to the taller blonde. 

“Yes. I’m alright. It’s just…” Charity paused again.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?” Vanessa asked, concern slipping into her voice.

“No! No! Goodness no! Everything is great…” Charity paused, “Everything is actually really great.” Charity didn’t know what was going to come out of her mouth next. All she knew was that whatever it was… there was no stopping it. “You’re really great. You make me feel comfortable and calm and warm. I haven’t felt that way in a long time. When I touched you, when I startled you and dropped the plate, I said it scared me too. I wasn’t talking about the plate, Vanessa. I was talking about whatever is between us. This connection that I think you feel too. It makes me feel…” Charity trailed off, realizing that she was rambling.

Vanessa stood there stunned. “Charity… I… I don’t know what to say.”

Charity’s heart sunk. I always ruin everything. Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut? Why did I say all that stuff? Stupid…

“You don’t have to say anything.” Charity answered, starting towards the door.

“You’re right. I don’t have to say anything…” Vanessa said under her breath. 

Charity turned around to ask Vanessa what she had said, but when she turned around she was silenced by Vanessa’s lips on her own. 

Vanessa felt Charity fully give into the kiss. After a few moments, Charity pulled away and looked at the shorter blonde with a concerned look. “Vanessa… this can’t happen… We can’t do this… We can’t…”

Vanessa looked up at Charity, sliding her hands down Charity’s arms and interlocking their fingers, whispering, “Why not?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a really popular ask so here’s a chapter 2. And there’s more coming too.

Charity quickly unlocked their fingers and took a few steps away from Vanessa. Trying to think through what had just happened, she put her hands on her hips and took what she intended to be a deep breath, but instead was rather shaky and shallow. Charity’s thoughts were racing. Standing right there in the kitchen with her was a woman. A woman. She had just… kissed a woman. What was going to happen now? This didn’t make her a… lesbian, did it? Charity Dingle… Charity Adams was not a lesbian. She was happily married to a wonderful man. She was not a lesbian. She couldn’t be… could she?

Vanessa frowned. She could practically see the wheels turning in Charity’s head. “Charity…” Vanessa interjected softly, not wanting to startle the taller blonde.

Charity quickly turned around to face the shorter blonde. “What Vanessa?” she snapped.

Vanessa shrunk into herself a little, feeling attacked by Charity’s tone. The shorter blonde cast her gaze downward to her feet. Charity felt her heart sink to the floor where Vanessa continued to keep her gaze.

Both women were frozen there in that kitchen for a long time, Vanessa staring at the floor and Charity staring at her, both women not knowing what to do or say next. Charity was the first to break the heavy silence. “Um… Scott is going to be home from work soon…” she spoke hesitantly, “…and I haven’t even thought about what to make for dinner, so…” the taller blonde trailed off. She wanted to take it back. Charity immediately regretted bringing her husband up. “I’m sorry Vanessa I just…” Charity sighed. She was just digging herself in deeper with everything she said. Vanessa didn’t so much as look up at her. Charity knew it was time for her to go.

Neither woman said goodbye. Neither woman knew if they would ever see each other again.

Charity walked to the door, before stopping for a moment with her hand on the doorknob and her heart back in the kitchen. She looked back and saw Vanessa standing alone in the kitchen, her eyes still cast downward. She didn’t know what to do, so she left Vanessa and went home to do the only thing she really knew how to do: be a housewife.

XXXXXXX

Vanessa stood there in the kitchen, her eyes glued to the floor for quite some time, many thoughts racing through her mind. When she finally looked up from her shoes, she checked the clock on the wall.

No, it can’t be, Vanessa thought to herself. It was 5:10pm. She had stood there thinking about nothing but Charity for over an hour. What is wrong with me? Vanessa thought. Why did she feel so attached to this woman? It wasn’t like she was a lesbian. She was happily married to a wonderful man. She was not a lesbian. She couldn’t be… could she?

She hated feeling so helpless and unproductive, so she did the only thing she really knew how to do: be a housewife.

XXXXXXX

Both women had dinner waiting for their husbands when they got back from work. They had cleaned while dinner was cooking and would clean again after they were done eating. After dinner, they both cleared the tables and put away the leftovers.

Vanessa was washing the dishes when Thomas came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He placed his chin on her shoulder and pressed his lips to her neck. Vanessa instinctively smiled, but then her smile quickly dissipated as her thoughts drifted to the kiss that happened earlier in the day in the very kitchen her and her husband were standing in.

“What’s wrong darling?” Thomas asked, feeling Vanessa fill with joy, but then go limp with something close to disinterest.

“Oh nothing dear, just thinking is all,” Vanessa quickly replied.

“Thinking about what?” Thomas inquired.

Vanessa panicked. She couldn’t tell him what she was really thinking about. She needed a way to shut him up before she said something she regretted. Vanessa took her rubber gloves off and turned around in her husband’s arms, wrapping hers around his neck. “I was just thinking about us.”

“Is that so? Well, in that case…” Thomas smirked and quickly swept his wife off her feet and into his arms. “Can the dishes wait?”

Vanessa felt conflicted, but she wasn’t about to tell her husband that. She silently nodded with a feigned smile and he carried her off to their bedroom.

At the Adams’ household a similar series of events occurred. Charity covered her thoughts about the happenings of the afternoon with cheeky comments directed towards her husband all throughout dinner, eventually causing him to sweep her up in his arms and take her to their bedroom.

XXXXXXX

The next morning Charity and Vanessa both woke up in their respective houses, in their respective bedrooms, in their respective beds, but their thoughts were anything but individual.

Vanessa stretched out in her bed and lay there for a while, her mind a blank. Soon enough however, her thoughts were consumed by everything that had occurred the day before. Her contemplations rapidly dizzied her into a spell of nausea. Vanessa quickly got out of bed and ran to the bathroom, trying to hold back vomit, before finally letting it go in the toilet. She took a long, shaky breath, before slumping into a heap on the bathroom floor. She leaned her head back to rest on the wall and closed her eyes. She felt as if the world was upside down and her body had turned itself inside out. She was entirely disoriented, confused, and upset.

She sat there for a long time on the bathroom floor, her thoughts still speeding through her mind. She couldn’t believe that even the thought of the tall blonde could get her so excited that she got sick. How could she let her get to her that easy? It was like she was under a spell. Something about the woman made her dizzy in the best way possible, but Vanessa realized that it was something about the thought of losing the taller blonde that made her feel sick to her stomach. It had only been a short while that Charity Adams had been in her life, but something about the woman made it impossible to forget her.

Vanessa opened her eyes. She took a deep breath and decided that she needed fresh air. Maybe that would help her nausea. Maybe she could even get some errands done while she was out. Maybe they would be a good distraction.

Charity, just next door, was experiencing entirely different symptoms. She lay in her bed for a while, contemplating yesterday’s occurrences as well, but she wasn’t nauseated from thoughts of Vanessa, although they were in abundance. She was hungry. Her stomach would not stop rumbling, a wake-up call she didn’t ask for.

Charity sighed, quite reluctantly slid out of her bed, slumped off to the kitchen, a place that held somewhat of a new meaning for her, and got out the ingredients to make her famous French toast. She glanced over the gathered items on the counter, but soon realized she didn’t have eggs. Charity sighed again, recognizing that the morning had just grown more aggravatingly active. However, she was set on having French toast, so Charity quickly got ready to run to the market and grab some eggs as well as a few other things that had accumulated on her shopping list.

XXXXXXX

Charity had finally gotten around to picking up an egg carton after having perused the entire store, picking up a few more things than were on her list. She looked over the cartons and grabbed a nice one before starting towards the register, when she looked up and saw none other than Vanessa Clark.

“Oh, um, hello Charity,” Vanessa stammered, surprised to have run into the taller blonde this early in the morning. She knew Charity was not an early bird from many cancelled morning plans when they were getting to know one another.

“Good Morning Vanessa.” Charity replied, in a slightly biting tone.

There was a small pause in the conversation before Vanessa interjected, “Getting eggs, yeah?”

Charity smiled politely and nodded, uncomfortable by the surprise run-in, “Yes, I realized I didn’t have any eggs for French toast this morning so I ran out to get some…”

Vanessa tried to stifle a laugh, “Looks like you got a few more things than just eggs there.”

Charity looked down at the basket she was carrying, rapidly becoming defensive. “Yes Vanessa, I had a few things on my grocery list so I decided to get them while I was here.” Charity looked back up at the shorter blonde, “You know, killing two birds with one stone and what not…”

Vanessa was slightly caught off guard by Charity’s tone. “I didn’t mean anything by that, Charity. Just joking is all…”

Charity sighed. “I’m just a little tired, I guess.” Charity smiled ever so slightly, trying to make the situation less uncomfortable. 

Vanessa smiled. “It’s alright Charity. I know you’re not exactly a morning person. Which begs the question, why are you up so early?”

“I told you,” Charity replied, lifting the small carton of eggs in her hand to remind the shorter blonde. “I woke up unbearably hungry this morning, so I figured I’d make my famous French toast.”

Vanessa smiled as if she could smell the dish, “Mmmm… I love French toast! So does Thomas, but he always leaves for work before I even get out of bed. I actually skipped breakfast this morning because I… um…” Vanessa forced a smile, catching herself almost telling Charity about this morning’s incident. “Nevermind that, I should pick up some to make some French toast myself.” As she said this, she reached for a carton of eggs, but Charity quickly interrupted her.

“Or you could come over and I can make some for the both of us?” Charity interjected without even so much as a thought about the words coming out of her mouth. When her brain finally caught up, she was shocked at the invitation she had given Vanessa to come into her kitchen, a place they should probably never again be in together. She was surprised by the lack of hesitation, as was Vanessa, who although taken aback by the enthusiastic invitation made by the taller blonde, accepted anyway.

XXXXXXX

They were enjoying the French toast Charity had made for the two of them, when Charity, feeling uneasy about being in a kitchen with Vanessa again, started making excuses for the initial invitation.

“I always seem to make too much, so maybe with a third person, the leftovers won’t be as terrible. Scott keeps telling me we need to have children because I naturally cook for a family of four.” Charity laughed nervously at her last comment. It was like she couldn’t stop herself. There was no Charity off button.

Vanessa nearly choked on her coffee at the mention of kids. “Do you and Scott want kids?” she turned to the taller blonde and forced a smile. She didn’t know what was going on in her head, but something about Charity talking about having kids made her squirm.

“Not really. Anyway…” Charity continued, “Scott and I have been having problems in the bedroom. We both get really into it and then… nothing. I’ve had to fake almost everything lately. Like just last night I…” Charity stopped. She couldn’t believe what she had just said. What is wrong with me? Charity thought, absolutely humiliated. Something about Vanessa made her so comfortable that it was easy to over share.

Vanessa sat stunned.

Charity immediately turned red. She felt so embarrassed by the comments she had shared with Vanessa. “I am so sorry Vanessa I…” Charity stammered. “I don’t know why I said that… I… I don’t know… I… I’m sorry.” Charity picked up her plate and took it to the sink to wash off, trying to keep herself busy, not wanting to look at Vanessa.

Vanessa watched Charity stumble around the kitchen in desperate pursuit to avoid eye contact with her. The shorter blonde took a deep breath and walked over to Charity. She hesitated a moment, before placing a hand on Charity’s arm. Charity jumped a little, and dropped the plate in the sink, making Vanessa jump slightly.

Charity didn’t look at Vanessa, at least not right away. It took a second for her to look over to the shorter blonde standing at her side. Vanessa was patient though. She waited silently until the taller blonde was ready to look at her.

“Charity it’s okay…” Vanessa started, “You don’t have to be embarrassed.” Charity broke away from the shorter blonde, a familiar feeling for the pair of them, but that didn’t deter Vanessa from continuing to speak. “I’m glad you said that.”

“Please stop Vanessa.” Charity pleaded.

“No, Charity.” Vanessa replied.

Charity turned around to meet Vanessa’s gaze. She was about to ask Vanessa to leave when the shorter blonde interjected, “I’m glad you said that because… well because… I’ve had to fake it too.”

It was Charity’s turn to stand there stunned.

Vanessa swallowed hard. “Last night Thomas and I um… he tried to get me in the mood and… and I was… for the first time in a long time, but… at some point I realized… I wasn’t thinking about him.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will hopefully have this updated a lot quicker. So sorry for the wait.

Charity couldn’t look at Vanessa. She felt like she was in a whirlwind. She wasn’t in control. The Dingle in her didn’t like not being in control. She couldn’t let Vanessa finish her explanation. She knew what was coming next. She knew that she couldn’t handle what was coming next. Charity couldn’t handle a confession like that. She had to stop those words from ever being spoken into existence.

“Get out.” Charity murmured almost incomprehensibly, her eyes now glued to the floor.

Almost.

But Vanessa heard her. Vanessa heard her loud and clear. Suddenly she was speechless. She had a whole confession about to spill out, but Charity’s tone was a force field. The words stopped dead in Vanessa’s mouth. She swallowed hard, trying to push down the lump now in her throat.

Vanessa stared at Charity. Charity felt the shorter blonde’s gaze on her, but couldn’t bring herself to look at her. She couldn’t handle the hurt that was inevitably in Vanessa’s expression. She couldn’t handle it because she knew that she had caused it.

“Vanessa I just need…” Charity began to reason, but trailed off when she heard the sound of heels clicking against the floor of her home. Charity listened to the sound get farther and farther away from her, before it disappeared with the sound of the front door closing. Charity’s vision blurred then temporarily cleared for her to silently watch the teardrops splash onto the kitchen floor.

XXXXXXXX

Vanessa hadn’t seen Charity in about a week and it was killing her. She hadn’t even seen her in passing at the market. Vanessa wasn’t used to this. Ever since they met they had been almost inseparable.

Almost.

Unfortunately, Vanessa ruined it.

It was eating Vanessa alive to know that she ruined it with the beginnings of a very long admission. She had scared Charity. Charity would never admit it, but she was scared by Vanessa’s almost confession.

Almost.

She had learned to hate the “almost”.

She regretted not staying and talking it out with Charity. Vanessa was just so upset by Charity’s harsh tone that she couldn’t have stayed in that kitchen. She didn’t know what to do anymore… so she stopped. She stopped doing.

First, she stopped getting out of bed until she absolutely had to, and the only reason that she absolutely had to would be to go to the bathroom. She’d lay in bed for hours, sometimes until late afternoon.

Then she stopped leaving the house. She didn’t get dressed for the day, didn’t eat much for long periods of time, didn’t do anything.

The only time she did anything was just before her husband came home from work. Every day at 5pm Vanessa would get dressed, fix her hair, put some makeup on, clean the rooms her husband would occupy, cook dinner, and wait for him to come home. Then after dinner, she’d clean up the kitchen, walk upstairs, and lay down in bed, pretending to be asleep so she wouldn’t have to speak to her husband.

This went on for an entire week. Then the weekend came around and Vanessa knew she had to come up with something to keep her lazy routine, as her husband would be home from work until Monday.

“Darling, I think I’m coming down with something,” Vanessa feigned, lying in bed Saturday morning, while her husband bustled around their bedroom getting dressed for the day.

“You do?” Thomas asked the blonde.

“Yes dear, I feel absolutely awful,” Vanessa continued.

Thomas’ energy fell. “So you won’t be coming to the golf tournament today?”

Vanessa had entirely forgotten about the tournament, but she was relieved when she realized Thomas was buying her act. “I’m so sorry… but I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it,” Vanessa replied.

“Okay dear, well, wish me luck then yeah?” Thomas said walking around the bed to say goodbye to his wife.

“Good luck…” Vanessa whispered, closing her eyes as he kissed her on the forehead before leaving the bedroom. Vanessa listened for the front door to close before relaxing into the comfort of her bed. Before she knew it she fell back asleep.

XXXXXXX

Vanessa yawned and stretched out in bed before even opening her eyes, but once she did she regretted it. She was staring at the clock on the wall across the room and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Shit. Vanessa thought, almost shocking herself by the language in her head, but with the events of the past couple of weeks she figured she deserved to swear.

“How is it 5pm already?” the blonde asked aloud, rushing to get out of bed. Thomas would be home soon. Vanessa stopped in her tracks, rolling her eyes at herself, realizing she didn’t have to do anything. As far as Thomas was concerned she was ill. She smiled at her ingenuity and crawled back in bed, where she stayed for almost the entirety of the weekend.

When Monday came around, Vanessa was so drained of energy from doing nothing all weekend that she slept so soundly she didn’t even hear Thomas leave for work in the morning. Vanessa woke up several hours later, but laid in bed for another hour or so after that, just thinking. Staring up at the ceiling thinking about the events of the past week. What am I doing? the blonde thought to herself.

XXXXXXX

Charity was brewing some late-morning coffee when she heard the toaster go off. The bread jumping up from the heat of the toaster made her jump. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to that.

Charity went about her day like normal. She woke up later than the average housewife, made breakfast for herself, went out to the market for groceries, cleaned the house, cooked dinner and waited for her husband to come home. It was what she knew how to do… and she was damn good at it. It felt familiar and she was, for the most part, happy.

She did a similar routine every day: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… and then Thursday came around.

Charity had completed her morning routine. She woke up around 9:30 that morning, walked downstairs for some coffee and toast, not French toast, but an acceptable second, and then she heard a knock at the front door.

Charity walked over to the door, unlocking it and eventually opening it only to feel the desperate urge to close it once more.

“Hi Charity.”

They stood there for a moment or two just staring at each other, Vanessa on the Adams’ front porch and Charity in the doorway, neither woman knowing what to say.


End file.
